Fiestaoften called Fiestaware, is a line of ceramic glazed dinnerware manufactured and marketed by the Homer Laughlin China Company of Newell, West Virginia [1] [2] since its introduction in[1] with a hiatus from to Fiesta is noted for its Art Deco styling featuring concentric circles—and its Dating fiestaware colors of solid colors.

Dating fiestaware colors, who became Homer Laughlin's art director in Fiesta is sold in sets or from "open stock" where customers can select by the piece, mixing Dating fiestaware colors matching from the entire color range.

According to the Smithsonian Institution Press, Dating fiestaware colors appeal lies in its colors, design, and affordability. However, Fiesta was the first widely mass-promoted and marketed solid-color dinnerware in the Dating fiestaware colors. When it was introduced, the decoration of dinnerware and kitchenware ceramics was still inspired by the Victorian erabased on full, predetermined sets of dinnerware, all decorated with the same decal designs.

With its solid color glazes and mix-and-match concept, Fiesta represented something radically new to the general public. The forms and surfaces expressed an Art Deco influence. At introduction, the Fiesta line of dinnerware comprised some 37 different pieces, including such occasional pieces as candle holders in two designs, a bud vase, and an ash tray.

A set of seven nested mixing bowls ranged in size, from the smallest at five inches in diameter up to a nearly twelve-inch diameter.

Original 11 Fiestaware colors with...

But, the promotion and presentation Dating fiestaware colors Fiesta from Dating fiestaware colors start was as a line of open-stock items from which the individual purchaser could choose to combine serving and place pieces by personal preference and need. Plates of one color, Cream Soups of another, contrasting Cups and Saucers The Homer Laughlin Company quickly added several additional items to the line.

During this period some items were modified, and several items were eliminated, including the covered onion soup bowl, and the mixing bowl covers. In the years up tothe line was expanded by the production of more new items. At its most numerous, the Fiesta line comprised approximately 64 different items, including flower vases in three sizes, divided plates, water tumblers, carafesteapots in two sizes, five part relish trays, and large chop plates in fifteen-inch and thirteen-inch diameters. In addition, it offered several unique Dating fiestaware colors items for one dollar each, available only in a predetermined glaze color.

With World War II and the need for manufacturers to focus on production for that effort, non-war related production and public demand declined. Beginning inthe Fiesta line of items began to be reduced. Over the next four years, the more unusual serving Dating fiestaware colors were being discontinued, and bythe line's variety of items had been reduced by nearly one third.

Overall sales of the more typical place-setting pieces of Fiesta Dating fiestaware colors strong and reportedly peaked around The popularity of Fiesta was due to its bright colors, durable construction, stylized art deco shapes and designs, and its promotion through mass marketing. From its first introduction in and for over a decade, Fiesta products were a widespread fad. The dinnerware became something of a status symbol for late Dating fiestaware colors and pre-war s middle-class households.

The line name and design is still owned by the Homer Laughlin China Company of NewellWest Virginiawhich was the original company that produced and marketed it. Except for minor adjustments due to manufacturing requirements, the design of the original shapes remained virtually Dating fiestaware colors from to As home decorating color styles Dating fiestaware colors, the company changed the solid color glazes. The texture of the original glazes, and throughout Dating fiestaware colors life of vintage Fiesta, was semi-opaque.

This is smooth and glossy, but without any shining glare, rather more like an eggshell. The Dating fiestaware colors sometimes shows " glaze curtains", areas of uneven glazing where a heavy application meets a lighter one. At its introduction inFiesta was produced in five colors: Red orange redBlue cobaltDating fiestaware colors light greenYellow deep goldenand Old Ivory yellowish cream.

By Dating fiestaware colors, two years into production, a sixth color was added: Turquoise robin 's egg blue.

With the exception of the Red, this color assortment remained in production until approximately The original Red had been discontinued before see below. The discontinuation of red, plus the general changes in Dating fiestaware colors due to the United States' participation in World War II, caused a slump in sales of the larger serving pieces from the Dating fiestaware colors s.

Prior to this reduction in the number of shapes offered, only one or two very specialized shapes had been discontinued and those by Later items which were discontinued, such as covered onion soup bowls in turquoise glaze and mixing bowl covers in any color, are rare. Byhome decorating styles and colors had changed. The Homer Laughlin Company discontinued some original glaze colors and replaced them with four new colors.

Two Dating fiestaware colors glaze colors, Yellow and Turquoise, were retained, allowing the company to offer six colors through the s.

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By the end of the s, sales had again dropped. The company reduced its offering of items and changed the glaze colors. By the United States government had released its block on uraniumwhich enabled the Homer Laughlin Company to Dating fiestaware colors the original bright orange-red glaze again see below.

The company discontinued the four glazes of the previous decade in favor of four new choices. A wholly new glaze color of green was developed and marketed at this time. Although the company always referred to the new color simply as Green in its brochures, collectors later called it Medium Green, to distinguish it from other green glazes which the company had produced. The Medium Green Dating fiestaware colors a bright, almost Kelly green. Some have described it as a " John Deere Dating fiestaware colors " green.

"Dating fiestaware colors" inFiesta was available in the following colors: Red original orange redGreen new Medium greenYellow original goldenand Turquoise original robin's egg blue. Although this color assortment was available and sold for ten years —the popularity of Fiesta had fallen. The newest shade of green is in very short supply on the secondary Dating fiestaware colors relative to the other glaze colors. It has gained almost mythical status and, for certain pieces in this glaze, commands astronomical prices wholly disproportionate to the rest Dating fiestaware colors the line.

The Yellow glaze is the one glaze that was in production throughout the life Dating fiestaware colors vintage Fiesta. Turquoise, while Dating fiestaware colors strictly an original color having been introduced about a year into Fiesta's production was otherwise also in continuous production until the end of the original vintage era in Red, while an original color at the line's introduction, was removed from the market before see below.

Although it was brought back into production from tothis was after most of the unusual serving pieces had long been discontinued. Red pieces also usually command a premium price in the secondary market, both for its vibrancy in the mix of colors and for its scarcity due to limited years of production. While many collectors love all the colors, some only want those of the "Original 6" or "Fifties Colors".

During World War IIthe government took control of uranium for development of the atom bomband confiscated the company's stocks. The company reintroduced Fiesta red in using depleted uranium rather than the original natural uraniumafter the Atomic Energy Commission relaxed its restrictions on uranium oxide. In addition to pottery glazing, Uranium oxide was used even more extensively in the tiling industry, producing Uranium tile.

Red is not the only color of vintage ceramic glaze that is radioactive; it is detectable from other colors, including ivory. Environmental Protection Agency warns consumers not to use radioactive glazed ceramics for food or drink use. On March 16,the Homer Laughlin Company posted this statement on its website, in response to a Good Morning America broadcast about radioactivity in the home: The narrator also stated that it was Dating fiestaware colors off the market because when people heard about the uranium in the glaze, they did not want to buy the product.

The product that was used within the segment has been discontinued and has not available for close to 40 years time. Prior to World War II, it was common practice for manufacturers of ceramic dinnerware to use uranium oxide in color glazes. The Homer Laughlin China Company Dating fiestaware colors no exception, using this material in the original "Fiesta Red" glaze, among others.

Inthe U. Government stopped all civilian use of uranium oxide because available supplies were needed for the war effort. Homer Laughlin stopped producing Dating fiestaware colors red Dating fiestaware colors color at that time and for that reason.

Nonetheless, this interruption in production is believed to be the source of the rumor that Fiesta's red glaze was removed from the market because it was radioactive.

In truth, the red glaze emitted far less radiation than some other consumer products. Following the lifting of wartime restrictions, Homer Laughlin again began producing the red glaze in the s, using a depleted grade of uranium oxide. Homer Laughlin stopped all use of depleted uranium oxide in and it is not used in Fiesta Dinnerware which is produced today.

By home decorating tastes had again changed. The company restyled the shapes of Fiesta to try to modernize it. Finials on covers, handles on cups, bowl contours and shapes, were all modified to give Fiesta a more contemporary appearance.

The Dating fiestaware colors colors were also changed, with the choices being limited to three colors for the place-setting pieces, and one color for the five major serving pieces. These were the remainder of the piece assortment of shapes. Although essentially the same Red glaze as had then been available sinceit was renamed Mango Red. Replacing Yellow, Turquoise, and Medium Green, were two new glaze colors.

One was Turf Green, which nearly matched the popular Avocado color of the day. The second color was Antique Gold, a brownish-yellow which nearly matched the popular Harvest Gold of the era. The line's name was changed to "Fiesta Ironstone". The shape redesigns and color changes did not restore Fiesta's popularity, and in January the company discontinued the Dating fiestaware colors line.

As is common with many dinnerware shapes, the manufacturers add different decals to the shapes and give them new names.

Throughout its long life —the item shapes of Fiesta were often decorated with decals and marketed under other names, or a name variation. One example was "Fiesta Casuals", which consisted of two patterns, one with yellow and brown florals and accented with solid color Fiesta yellow items, the other Dating fiestaware colors turquoise and brown florals and accented with solid color Dating fiestaware colors turquoise Dating fiestaware colors. As another example, in Dating fiestaware colors late s, the shapes of Fiesta were glazed in a dark 'bean-pot' brown, flat pieces were given an underglaze 'Mediterranean-style' geometric decal in black, and the line was marketed as "Amberstone" in a supermarket promotion.

Later these shapes were glazed in Antique Gold, with a different stylized pattern under the glaze. This line was dubbed "Casualstone" for another supermarket promotion. During the s, a new appreciation for Art Deco designs from the s and s flourished. known as Fiesta dinnerware including background, all the varied colors, They can often be used to date Fiesta pieces since certain hues.

Original 11 Fiestaware colors with dates they were Dating fiestaware colors. Vintage Fiesta ( ware) Colour Chart and Production Dates Vintage Dinnerware, Vintage. SinceDating fiestaware colors total of 49 colors were introduced into the line.

Each year, the company continues its tradition of introducing a new color to the dinnerware.